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Sun of Shadows/Chapter 12
This is the twelfth chapter in Sun of Shadows and the third in part two, Ice. Five Iris hated walking. She didn't realize that often, because she usually spent longer trips on Shimmer's back. But she had just been forced to walk: she could have ridden on Shimmer, but then Karzelek would have had to trudge through the snow all alone. She couldn't have done that to him, so she kept him company no matter how hard it was to get around. Of course, Karzelek noticed that. "You don't have to do this," he said again. They had already survived a night out here, after which Nerrivik had left them alone - for good reason: "It's not far anymore." Iris lifted an arm. "Do you see the smoke on the horizon?" Frustrated, Karzelek shook his head. She had completely forgotten that his tribe was only used to caves and therefore couldn't see as far as hers, especially not in these bizarre light conditions. "But I believe you," he said. "Hopefully they won't attack us when they see us." That's why Nerrivik had left them about an hour ago. The risk was too big for her. Iris and Karzelek, however, weren't Water Elmen. "I'm sure we'll be fine." So they kept going while Shimmer circled high above them. When the magpie let out a loud cry, Karzelek knew: "They're coming, right?" The answer wasn't long in coming. First small, then bigger and bigger, reddish dots appeared on the horizon, flashing brightly occasionally. Those were flames, Iris realized. The Fire Elmen made themselves and their companions a way through the cold snow, heading straight for the friends. There were two lizards that soon stood before them; both giant two-legged mounts that Iris couldn't possibly identify. Like the lizards themselves, the Elmen on their backs had reddish scales, one slightly grayer than the other. Astonished, Iris noticed that they didn't necessarily seem hostile. The one with the grayish scales seemed grumpy, the other quite nervous. "Who are you and what are you doing here?", asked the man whose scales shone brightly, not least because of the flame in his palm. "Identify yourselves immediately, or else -" "Cut it out, Segomo," the other Elm interrupted him, turning to Iris and Karzelek. "Forget the guy. Those from the south aren't any good, I told Neith that from the start." "Those from the south make up a third of the army!" "So what? Flickering Claws like me live directly on the border of the Coldlands! We have much more experience than you and also -" Iris cleared her throat. The two men fell silent and finally turned to the friends, trying not to show their disarray. "Greetings," said the one with the grayish scales. "You're here for Nergal, I suppose?" Iris nodded and still had to grin. Judging by how chaotic as the two were, they had nothing to fear here. "Can you take us to him?" "What about the general?", Segomo asked cautiously and the other one gave him an approving look. "Correct. We'll take you to the general. Neith will want to see you." "How nice," Iris muttered, but realized how unsure Karzelek looked at her. It was better they played along if they wanted to get ahead. "Alright, take us there." Segomo's companion stepped behind the friends so that they were in the middle of the line now marching along the melted path to the camp of the Fire Tribe. "General is the highest rank," Karzelek whispered to her. "That means we're now virtually meeting the chief of this place." "How do you know that?" Karzelek sighed. "I was supposed to become a warrior, remember?" Of course. For a moment, Iris felt guilty for having reminded her friend, but only briefly. She was distracted far too quickly by the camp of the Fire Tribe, whose outskirts they now reached. The camp consisted of a large number of differently sized tents, which, as far as Iris could tell, weren't made of fabric. Of course not - the Fire Tribe wasn't a friend of flammable materials. It was probably some kind of leather, as she had seen in the clothing of the tribe. Everywhere Elmen ran around in all kinds of different armor, as if the clans hadn't discussed it with each other. That was probably the actual case - Iris already knew that the clans didn't really like each other. At least it didn't look like they were fighting each other here, not even as a sport, as Iris had seen at Mount Ember. They really seemed to focus on the common enemy. The companions had apparently not lost too many teeth lately either. Iris saw reptiles of all shapes and sizes, including giant crocodile-like creatures with flaming torch baskets on their flat backs, illuminating and keeping warm the camp. The ground in the camp was almost completely free of ice and snow, a dark spot in the bright landscape. And the Elmen... didn't seem hostile to them. Some looked suspicious, but most were rather curious or barely paying attention. Almost as if they had already expected them. These two also knew about Nergal, Iris recalled. Does everyone know? She stayed close to Karzelek, who looked intimidated. Shimmer, meanwhile, had also landed and walked after them. The Fire Elmen brought them to the largest of all tents, as far as Iris could tell. Of course, that was Neith's, as a general you were sure to get the best of everything that could be arranged. The grayish Fire Elm stepped inside, but Iris still understood him clearly. "General Neith." "Captain Jagaubis," it came back in a woman's voice. Was that Neith? She sounded tough, but friendly. "What's new?" "The fireless have arrived." A relieved breath that Iris didn't miss. "That took long enough. Send them here and leave us alone." "Yes, General." Jagaubis stepped out of the tent and stared down at Iris and Karzelek. "You heard her, didn't you? Don't let her wait any longer." Karzelek was on the move before Iris could react. "Of course not, sir." He gave her another look before sliding through the large opening into the tent. She had no choice but to follow him. "Come on," she just said to Shimmer and entered the tent. Immediately an intense smell reached her nose. Was that grilled meat? She looked around and her eyes immediately fell on the huge bright orange-red lizard that had spread around a small hearth on which something was indeed being prepared. The resulting smoke went out through a hole in the tent cover - good. Not even the Fire Elmen wanted to suffocate in their smoke. The tent itself was even bigger than Iris had suspected from the outside. This room seemed to be only a kind of anteroom, she recognized openings in the walls that led into further areas. There was nothing left in the room except the hearth, only the lizard... and a woman now standing up from the hearth. Her scales shone like the most beautiful sunset, most of the armor had been removed so she could move comfortably. Iris saw the metal parts carefully arranged on the edge of the tent, along with a helmet that had two holes for Neith's slightly curved horns - and a kind of ornamental crest that resembled her lizard's. "Hello," Neith tore Iris from her thoughts, so she quickly turned back to the woman. Neith had a stern face, but her eyes shone. "You must be the ones Nergal has been waiting for. Iris and Karzelek, right?" Iris stared at her in disbelief. "He mentioned our names?" Neith grinned mischievously, which immediately made Iris like her more. "No. His friend from the Forest Tribe was a bit more talkative in that regard." "She's fine, right?", Karzelek asked. Apparently he had worried about Ani too. Neith nodded. "I don't want to hold you back. My son has already explained everything to me. Tell me if you need my help, otherwise I'll leave that to you. You can find Nergal back there, just take the left path." My son? "Nergal is your -" "Is there a problem?" The question came so suddenly that it made Iris speechless. When she didn't say anything, Karzelek grabbed her arm and gently pulled her to the passage Neith had shown them. Iris grimaced and followed him. She had hardly touched the tent flap when she heard a shrill voice: "Hey, Scaleface! Someone's coming!" "Probably just my mother," it came back with an annoyed groan. "Nah, someone else! Are these the ones you were talking about?" Iris heard fast steps as she entered the room herself. As soon as she had arrived, he was standing right in front of her: the dark red Fire Elm with the black patches and the wing stubs of half a Shadow. Nergal, the way she had last seen him. No, that wasn't true. He too had adapted his clothes to the circumstances; they had long sleeves befitting the cold climate and, it seemed, chest and shoulder plates. "Do you have armor, too?", she wanted to ask, but was distracted by a bright yellow flicker. Astonished, she looked around - and looked down at a light gray Elmin who was a whole head shorter than her. Not older than ten, Iris thought, but then saw that the markings on the skin of the Lightning Elmin reached almost to the back of her hands. She was as old as Iris, if not older! The girl wore a silver metal bracelet that twinkled in the light of her flickers and long dark clothes, but Iris had no doubt that her markings were flirring fiercely below those too. Her face at least was flickering so fiercely that it almost nauseated Iris. "Hi!", the girl beamed and immediately shook her hand. "You're Iris, right? Nergal told me about you. How is it, having feathers? Doesn't it suck not to be able to fly through thunderstorms? But I guess at least you can fly at all, because -" Nergal groaned. "Just shut up." The Lightning Elmin grinned at Iris. "You can ignore the killjoy. He just talks boring crap anyway." Completely overwhelmed, Iris blinked at her, until the girl had apparently lost interest in her and turned directly to Karzelek to bombard him with questions. Iris took the opportunity to take Nergal aside. It was almost funny how annoyed he looked, but unfortunately Iris could understand him after just one minute. "About time," he mumbled. "She can be glad that we need her, otherwise I would have pulverized her long ago." It's nice to see you again too. Apparently Nergal wasn't a friend of greetings. Iris watched as Ani approached and apparently tried to slow the Lightning Elmin down a bit in regards to Karzelek. When she noticed Iris, she waved at her. "And it really had to be this Lightning Elmin?" Iris asked Nergal, amused. "Or are they all like that?" He scoffed. "What was I supposed to do? There were almost no Lightning Elmen on the ship. She wanted to come along and approves of our intentions. We'll survive her." "You managed to so far," she grinned back. "Where is the rest of you?" Nergal asked suddenly, now angry. "Are you two the only ones?" "The only ones here," Iris nodded. "Geb and Sedna have already gone ahead with Perry." Nergal glared at her in irritation. "Perry? Who's that? The Ice Elm we still need?" "Long story." She could still tell him later who he would soon be dealing with. "First, tell me who your new friend is." The Lightning Elmin had apparently heard them and grinned at her. "You can call me Five. My name's longer than that, but Nergal said nobody'll bother to remember the full thing." "Five?", Karzelek repeated. "Like the number?" "Exactly! It's actually more than that, but -" "But nobody cares," Nergal interrupted her. "Five is enough." Iris and Karzelek looked at each other. They actually were curious, but neither of them wanted to openly disagree with Nergal. Five kept talking: "Whatever you say, Scaleface. By the way, that's Buzzer over there!" Iris followed her gaze and saw, snuggled close to Ani's green binturong companion, a hairy, gray-and-yellow ball on which she could only barely identify something like legs. That had to be Five's companion. "He's actually a lot louder," Five added, her antennae rocking as she turned her head. "But up here it's too cold for him, he doesn't move much." Iris could well imagine what Nergal must be thinking. Surely he would have preferred the insect to Five's nonstop chatter, wondering why she couldn't be more like her companion. But she was an Elm, not an insect. "We should leave as soon as possible," the Fire Elm said. "We have no time to lose." "Let them rest," Ani replied softly. "They've just arrived. They should at least eat something." "Sounds good," Iris said. They had almost used up their supplies and her feet hurt from walking so much. "Your mother's grilling something, right?" Nergal glared at her. "That isn't for you." "Alright, alright." She lifted her hands in defeat. "Then where do we get something from?" "Five will bring us something. Right, Five?" "Can't remember choosing you as the leader," The Lightning Elmin said, but still turned to leave. "I'll be right back!" As soon as she was gone, Nergal let out a relieved sigh. "She's not that bad," Ani smirked as she started massaging Nergal's wing stumps. "You'll appreciate her someday." "Yeah, right," Nergal murmured, but sounded softer than before. Ani's presence calmed him, that much was clear. Karzelek dared to ask, "How are you, Nergal? Did it..." "Get worse? No, thankfully not." The Fire Elm was now almost completely calm. Hard to imagine how aggressive he could be. "The Elmen here are definitely going to be happy when we leave. I'm still creeping them out." Iris thought back to Neith's dismissive reaction. "And your mother?" Nergal winced and closed his eyes while Ani took care of his tensions. "She was happy to see me again. Didn't last long." Poor guy. For a moment, she felt sorry for him. "Just because you're half a Shadow?" He scoffed. "That'd be great." He didn't say more. Karzelek and Iris's eyes met in the resulting silence - and she sensed that they were both thinking the same. "This Perry I mentioned...", Iris began cautiously. Immediately Nergal looked at her. "What about him?" "He's a Light Elm," Karzelek said, nothing more. It was probably better not to mention that he was also the chosen one. "He could most likely -" "A Light Elm?", Nergal repeated, staring at him dumbfounded. "Where did he come from all of a sudden? If he thinks he can forestall my plan, then -" "I don't think that's what they're trying to say," Ani objected, beaming at the Fire Elm. "This Elm could cure you, Nergal." The boy was silent for a moment, as if he had to process it first. "Maybe," he finally said and Iris heard the hope in his voice. "That makes it all the more important to start as fast as possible. Hurry up!", he yelled in the direction in which Five had disappeared. "Chill," the girl replied, completely unimpressed. She appeared in the doorway leading to the anteroom with a tray full of meat skewers in her hands. "Eat something, that helps." Nergal grabbed one of the skewers without hesitation. Iris and Karzelek did the same: the meat, whatever it was, looked delicious. And tasted the same way. "Not bad," Iris said with a full mouth, and got back a grin from Five and a grimace from Nergal. She didn't want to know what his problem was this time. But even he enjoyed the food - only Ani hadn't even touched her skewer. "Everything alright?", Karzelek asked worriedly. Was Iris mistaken, or had Ani lost weight since their last encounter? Again Nergal grimaced, but this time he looked worried rather than angry. "You have to eat, Ani. Whether there are plants here or not." Of course, there weren't any plants in this area and the Fire Tribe was more meat-oriented anyway. And Ani, who came from the Forest Tribe, probably hadn't eaten anything corresponding to her tribe's preferred diet for weeks. Karzelek had understood, too. "Here," he offered, rummaging in the backpack he used for his provisions. He brought out a carrot that had likely been for Four-Leaf and handed it to Ani, who hesitated. "But I can't just..." "It's fine," he reassured her. "He can live without vegetables for a while - he rather licks stones anyway." The gratitude in her eyes was obvious, and even Nergal looked relieved. "Keep a few for later," he mumbled. When everyone had eaten, it was time to leave. Finally, like Nergal probably thought. Iris would have been able to relax for another hour or two. "How far is it from here to the Ice Tribe?", Karzelek wanted to know. It was Five who answered him while she tried to get her companion to get up by more or less gently nudging him. "If you came from the Water Tribe, then not much further. Especially if you can ride!" She gave her bumblebee a big push and suddenly the hairball hung humming in the air. Effortless, Five jumped on his back without him having to land. Iris couldn't replicate that, at least not inside the tent. She followed Nergal outside - his companion, the two-legged reptile Spitfire, was apparently basking by one of the torch-bearing crocodiles they had seen on their arrival. He barely took note of his mother when he left the tent. "Where are you going?", Neith asked, seconds before Nergal was out of sight. She sounded little enthusiastic. "Getting Spitfire," he replied curtly. "We're done, we're leaving." "Good luck then," she said, looking at him as if she meant it too. "Take care." Iris could hardly blink in astonishment when Nergal had already stormed out of the tent. Why did this phrase distress him so much? She only saw Neith grimace. "You too," the woman went on to Iris and the others. "Make sure he doesn't come up with really stupid ideas." She said that with a bitterness that left Iris with an unpleasant aftertaste. Was she blaming Nergal for his Half-Shadow state? That wasn't true, even Iris knew that. "We will," Ani replied before Iris could clear it up, and took them back outside. There, Nergal was saddling Spitfire while some curious Elmen watched them. They really were a weird bunch, Iris found as well. Five whirred on Buzzer, the gray-and-yellow hairball, in the air, still flickering like mad. Ani's binturong Durian, half bear, half cat, stuck his narrow snout into the last not yet melted snow while the girl got on his back. At least he could probably enjoy the snowy landscape with his thick coat. Karzelek and Four-Leaf would also ride with the two, Nergal only tolerated himself on the back of his lizard with its shimmering red scales and razor-sharp claws. And Iris would fly on Shimmer this time, as she had long wanted to do. So that's what they were, five out of eight Elmen supposed to save Elysia from destruction. Did they really qualify so much better than Perry alone? What could children like them do against the Keeper of Shadows, especially when two of them couldn't use magic? Were she, Geb, Sedna, and the others really the best choice? Certainly not. But they were the ones who had found each other. Those who wanted to help the world together. And who will, Iris thought, rising on Shimmer into the sky. Category:Chapters Category:EE3 Chapters